


Old, Silver, and Gold

by verymerrysioux



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Warriors
Genre: Engineer!Link, For Science!, Gen, Magical Artifacts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:07:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25083601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verymerrysioux/pseuds/verymerrysioux
Summary: The army finds old relics deemed useless beyond their historical value. Until the hero looks at each of them and thinks, "I can make them better".In which the hero finds an old dominion rod, ancient spinners, tarnished gauntlets, and sees a wealth of gold in them.
Relationships: Link & Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 103





	Old, Silver, and Gold

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Hold in Trust](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20210584) by [EstaJay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EstaJay/pseuds/EstaJay). 



> An idea I had when I saw the names of the level 2 weapons in Hyrule Warriors. Many thanks to [EstaJay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EstaJay/pseuds/EstaJay) for giving me the idea of Engineer Warriors!
> 
> No beta, I die like a normal soldier.

"So, hypothetically," Link starts.

"I already don't like where this is going," Zelda says, wishing she stayed in her tent a little longer. Maybe Impa would have been in charge while she pretended she was still in blissful slumber. "That word spells chaos and it's too early to deal with whatever you've done to create it."

"Hypothetically is a good word," he defends, vaguely insulted. "A very nice, scientific-sounding word."

"You taught that word to your mini-self and whenever he starts his sentence with that word, it means he's either up to something or has already done something," she points out. "The last one was 'Hypothetically, what would you do if a magical mask is stuck on a soldier?' and I had to be the one that pulled it off that poor captain."

"First off, he's not a royal engineer," he sniffs. "He's a little shit. Second, what I was going to tell you, before you unfairly accused me of shenanigans-"

"That's one way to describe it," she comments mildly.

"-is that I have an idea on those ancient artifacts we found in the last battle," he finishes. "What do you think is the best way to use them?"

"Put them in the royal museum to remember and respect its rich history?" 

He has the gall to look at her like she's the idiot. 

"None of those items were used for combat," she says weakly, already knowing what he's thinking of. "They were used for going through the ancient temples and dungeons. They're old, Link. Most of them date before the Twilight era, that the Hero of Twilight was able to use them is a miracle in itself."

"The gold and silver gauntlets are items Young Link used," Link corrects. "The Hero of Twilight already had immense strength and didn't need any magical enhancements, hence why he could use that massive ball and chain with no problem."

She didn't need a history lesson, she was the princess of Hyrule, her tutors pounded that and many more in her skull since she was old enough to read. "Link."

"The Hero of Twilight didn't grow up in war," Link continues. "Neither did Young Link. They didn't see much of their use for battles." He lets out a breath. "Which I'm grateful for, because looking at their functions, their potential is terrifying."

There's probably the unsaid reason of not wanting Young Link to lose what little of innocence he had left by thinking of the violent uses his set of power gauntlets could do. Even she had some morbid thoughts on what they could have done when it had been new and strong. 

Young Link had used them to push and carry things, bless his tiny soul.

"I suppose reverse engineering the gauntlets and mass producing them would be good for the soldiers," she muses, then takes a look at his face and regrets her habit of waking up early. 

Why couldn't she stay a noble princess instead of a warrior one? Her grandmother didn't have to deal with this (though that's because her grandmother had to deal with the power plays of too rich nobles and even haughtier rulers). 

"That's not what you had in mind."

"Well." He has the decency to look guilty, and it's a small comfort in the large headache that’s throbbing in her skull. "The ball and chain could be an excellent weapon, if we had the strength to carry it, and the gauntlets can solve that and more."

She hates herself for being intrigued and says nothing, a silent command for him to continue.

"Metal is a good focus for magic if done correctly," Link explains, gesturing at the rapier on her hip. "And if, say the silver gauntlets, are attached to a ball and chain that's coated with just the right amount of silver, and maybe a little gold…"

She hates that Link doesn’t finish it, predicting she’ll figure out his thoughts, and she does figure out his idea. The surface of it, at least.

The gauntlets and the ball and chain would be a literal walking wrecking ball. The ball would be more than just easier to carry, it would feel like carrying a child's toy. That's not even accounting for the amount of elemental damage the amalgamation would have.

"It would take some level of magic mastery to control the flow," she muses. “Or else it would literally explode in someone’s face.”

"Oh, well, that's just for the gauntlets." He waves off, she wishes her headache could be waved off like that. "The ideas I have for the spinner would be more applicable for most of the soldiers, all they need is a good sense of balance."

Din, give her strength.

"I also have a few ideas for the dominion rod! I thought I'd have you test it out first since you're one of the best in magic-"

"You've already tweaked them?!"

"Just the rod!" He assures, giving her an easygoing smile that did nothing to assuage her anger (and panic). "It was similar enough to the fire rod that I was confident not to break it!"

 _Din, give her strength not to throttle him._ Or do. She's not sure at this point.

* * *

Impa comes out of her tent just in time to witness a giant statue whack a large boulder away with an equally giant hammer like an absurd version of croquet. 

A few feet away from the floating statue are the princess and the hero. The princess holds up something that looks a lot like the old dominion rod they found in an enemy base, while the hero has his leather journal out, writing furiously on a page.

She feels the familiar throb of a growing migraine. Does she want to know?

“They’re testing out hypothetical scenarios,” Young Link pipes up, making the soldiers at the outpost jump in surprise as he seemingly came from nowhere. 

“Your footwork still needs work,” Impa comments, too tired to criticize anything that would need at least three cups of her strongest yerba mate blend. “If I can hear it, then any Hylian who’s paying attention will.”

Young Link frowns and looks at his boots like they’ve gone turncoat at him.

“I’m going to brew tea and get some breakfast,” Impa declares, ignoring the silver gauntlets Link brings out. “Don’t call me unless someone’s dying.”

“With how sucky the soldiers are, you might as well skip breakfast,” Young Link mutters, making the outpost soldiers droop in shame. "Your standards are too low."

Link is right, he is a little shit.

**Author's Note:**

> Yay, nay, or meh?


End file.
